Upon graduating from the University of Oxford, she worked as a researcher for the Labour MP Phillip Whitehead. She worked in HM Treasury as a fast stream administrator holding many posts including on the Energy Desk, the Exchange Rate Desk, Central Budget Unit, Overseas Finance and finally she was the head of strategy. In 1990–91, she was seconded to the Office of the Czechoslovak Prime Minister to advise on their economic transition after the Velvet Revolution.

After the 2010 general election, Goodman nominated Ed Miliband for the leadership of the Labour Party. After his election as party leader, she was appointed as opposition spokesman in Labour's Justice team with special responsibility for Prisons and Sentencing policy. In October 2011, she became Shadow Minister for Media. In this role she has campaigned for better child protection online. In October 2013, she was also given responsibility for Labour's Arts policy.[citation needed]

On 3 December 2014, she became Shadow Minister for Welfare Reform as part of a small Shadow Cabinet reshuffle by Ed Miliband.[4] Since February 2016, Goodman has also served as a member of the Advisory Board at Polar Research and Policy Initiative.[5]

Goodman supported Remain in the June 2016 EU referendum campaign. Her constituency voted for Brexit. This was noted by the Conservative Party in their ‘Respect the Result’ campaign.[7]

In 2017, she took part in a campaign to save the DWP office in Bishop Auckland from closure. She raised questions in Parliament regarding the proposed office closure and took part in a match and Rally opposing the closure on 18 March 2017 [8]

In July 2017, Goodman was appointed as a junior minister in Jeremy Corbyn’s Shadow Foreign Affairs team.[9]

In May 2009, the Daily Telegraph revealed that Goodman had claimed £519.31 for use of a cottage in her own constituency on her expenses, and had submitted hotel bills dated two months prior to being elected to the House of Commons.[12] Goodman argued that she was carrying out Parliamentary business when using the cottage and thus her claim was accepted, and the claim for the hotel stay – which was rejected – was a mistake.[12]

She also claimed a £600 fee for advice from her management consultant husband.[13]
Goodman pointed out that the independent inquiry by Thomas Legg into MPs expenses had given her "an entirely clean bill of health and concluded that none of my claims required further explanation or clarification.”[13]

In June 2014, Goodman was invited to give a speech at the opening of a village fayre at Ingleton, County Durham, in the parliamentary constituency which she had represented for nine years.[14]

During her speech, she praised the village for the beauty of its waterfalls and caves and for its connection with the author, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. None of these features applied to the County Durham village, but were, in fact, references to the village of Ingleton, situated seventy miles away in North Yorkshire.[15] The speech reportedly "baffled" the audience and after five minutes she was called away from the microphone and informed of her mistake.[14]

In October 2015, Goodman attracted criticism from fellow MPs over a tweet mentioning Jeremy Hunt's wife. Hunt had mentioned his wife in a speech on Asian economies' work culture, and Goodman's tweet asked: "If China is so great, why did Jeremy Hunt's wife come to England?". The Labour Party issued a statement saying that Goodman's tweet "did not represent its views" and Labour's Shadow Leader of the House of Lords Lady Smith said Goodman's tweet was "absolutely bizarre". Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron said it was a "terrible tweet" and called for Goodman to apologise.[16] She later deleted the tweet and issued an apology.[17]